Welcome to the new school year, welcome back to SCIDES! We look forward to helping you learn in a way that works for you and your schedule. Whether you're enrolled with us full time or part time, our team is here for you all the way. This month, we want to launch a new series on our blog, the Educator of the Month. First up is our new principal, Mrs. Karen Goetz; no better way to introduce her to you!

Mrs. Goetz, we're glad to have you on the SCIDES team - welcome! Tell us a bit about yourself.

"Thank you! I'm happy to be part of the team! I was born and raised in Terrace, B.C. where I still have some family. Ever since I can remember, I knew I would be a teacher. I was the first in my family to attend kindergarten (because it was a new thing back then!) and every day after school I would goad my sisters into playing “school”. When in high school, I was a member of the Future Teacher’s Club through which I got to be a student teacher, and I taught piano lessons to Pre-Kindergarten children."

That does sound like you were born to be a teacher! Tell us a bit more about your path to becoming the principal at SCIDES.

"It has been a great journey! I completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and History at the University of Victoria and then added a year to earn my teaching certificate. I began teaching in 1987 in a tiny northern B.C. town that doesn’t even exist anymore – Cassiar – then moved out of the “land of the midnight sun” in 1989 and arrived in Merritt where I started teaching English at Nicola Valley Jr. Secondary. In 1996 that school changed to become Coquihalla Middle School. Merritt Secondary School was the next move I made in 1999. Between 2002 – 2004, I completed my Master’s Degree in Education and in 2009 I became one of the vice principals at Merritt Secondary. I'm thrilled that SCIDES is the next step - a great school with so much opportunity for students."

It's great that you're so connected to Merritt! Will you share your favourite aspect of teaching and your favourite book with us?

My favourite aspect of teaching is pressing for critical thinking and being able to engage in those sorts of rigorous conversations with students. My favourite book is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein because of its invaluable theme of “learn from me.” I believe that we all have so much to learn from each other and learning is like healthy candy for our brains (ok that may be an oxymoron!). When we take the time to listen, think and problem solve, it’s amazing what our minds can conquer!

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a fantastic book! Now tell us, what do you enjoy doing when you are not at SCIDES?

Outside of everything education, I enjoy my family, weight lifting, travel, and shopping. My husband and I have three adult sons who are all pretty close to being established in their various career paths. I am super proud of them all.

And finally, what's your best advice to a student who is not sure what to do after graduation?

My best advice to anyone is to get some sort of post high school training. The world opens up to those who go beyond and we discover things we never even knew existed. It’s exciting!